Kids Mountain Bikes That Won’t Break The Bank

Cleary Bikes' Decent Kids Mountain Bikes That Won’t Break The Bank

Remember that feeling of freedom as a kid? Bikes empower kids to learn about our world in a way that is free of a screen. Cleary Bikes recognizes that kids become engaged when they have the independence to ride around wherever they choose.

Designed to be fun, not stressful and scary, Cleary bikes roll smooth, quiet and provide a thrill for kids. The 4 bikes that have really cool names, Owl, Hedgehog, Gecko and Starfish. The intent with the bikes was to make them simple enough to last through the abuse a kid can inflict, yet also be enough of a “real bike” to teach them proper riding techniques and keep the weight down.

The Cleary Owl 20" Single Speed Bike

The Owl is for the older kids, with 20″ wheels, but weighing only 19.1lbs. Cleary concentrated on building the bikes as durable and simple as possible, so it will work well, and for a long time on the trail, half-pipe or on the way to school. The Owl comes in blue, orange or grey for $345

FEATURES:

Front and rear hand brakes, ships with flat handlebars

Slim, junior race-style saddle designed to maximize a rider’s range of motion while minimizing chafing and weight

5mm Allen skewer on front wheel

Internal cable routing

Three-piece crank, Square taper bottom bracket

Reinforced steel fork

Single speed drivetrain with removable chain guard

Grips, handlebars and brake levers designed for small hands; slightly larger than on the Starfish and Gecko

Bike geometry centers the rider’s weight between his or her hands and seat, which creates a stable, quick-handling bike

32×19 gear ratio

Comes in Easy Grey, Cleary Blue and Very Orange

The Cleary Hedgehog 16" Single Speed Bike

The Hedgehog weighs in at just 16lbs with 16″ wheels. It is available in cream, blue, green and orange for $310

FEATURES –

Front and rear hand brakes

Slim, junior race-style bike saddle designed to maximize a rider’s range of motion while minimizing chafing

5mm Allen skewer on front wheel

Internal cable routing

Three-piece crank; Square taper bottom bracket

Single speed drivetrain with removable chain guard

Grips, handlebars and brake levers designed for small hands; slightly larger than on the Starfish and Gecko

Bike geometry centers the rider’s weight between his or her hands and seat, creating a stable, agile bike.

The Cleary Gecko 12" Single Speed Bike

The smallest of the models with a drivetrain, the 12″ wheeled Gecko is an amazing 15.8lbs. Selling for $250, it is available in cream, orange, blue and pink.

FEATURES –

Front and rear hand brakes and Coaster brake

Slim, junior race-style bike saddle designed to maximize a rider’s range of motion while minimizing chafing and weight

5mm Allen skewer on front wheel

Three-piece crank; Square taper bottom bracket

Internal cable routing

Single speed drivetrain with removable chain guard

Grips, handlebars and brake levers designed for small hands

Bike geometry designed to provide early riders with ample room to stand over the seat or top tube with two hands on the handlebars, and feet on the pedals or toes on the ground

The Cleary Starfish 12" Balance Bike

The smallest of the models, the Starfish does not have a drivetrain. Designed as a kick bike, it has 12″ wheels, and is $199.

FEATURES –

5mm Allen skewer on front wheel

Fully adjustable saddle and handlebars will last at least one growth spurt

Semi-slick tires

Slim, junior race-style bike saddle designed to maximize a rider’s range of motion while minimizing chafing

5mm Allen bolt on rear wheel

Internal cable routing

Grips, handlebars and brake levers designed for the littlest hands

Bike geometry designed to comfortably position first-time riders with two hands on the handlebars, seat on the saddle and feet on the ground

Variable speed, Fred Flintstone style

All Cleary Bikes arrive 99% assembled. This is a pretty nice feature to prevent most home mechanic dads from trying to adjust the brakes with a pipe wrench.

Also in The Bike Log

The kids are going back to school! If you’re like me, the parent of a Hedgehog rider, you likely woke up this morning to find that your four-year-old crawled into bed with you last night and is softly snoring into your face. Pre-K is a sweet age. My little son wants to be a big, independent kid - and he’s not quite there yet. My son goes to sleep on his own, for instance, but he still ends up crawling into our bed before morning.

Today is bike to work day. If you learned this just now, chances are you didn’t ride in. That’s ok. Tomorrow would be a great day to start.

A few years ago, I had to travel to a meeting in downtown Los Angeles. My best friend lives in LA, so I planned to stay with him the night before. For years, I’d hassled him for not biking to work. I rode everywhere by bike in San Francisco, so I brought my bike to LA expressly to bike commute to downtown LA and prove how simple it was.

In case you’re not aware, we’re almost a month into a government shutdown that is causing hardship to millions of people. If the current administration didn’t cause such widespread tragedy so consistently, I’d dismiss all the current news as a joke. Unfortunately, our President is tragic and his destruction is not a joke.